You are gorgeous; you are beautiful; you are strong; you were born to be a member of our army.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Winter Skin

While we were all mourning the loss of the great Justin Timberlake to Jessica Biel and watching all of the leaves fall off the trees, our skin was starting to dry out.  Fall and winter, as I'm sure you know, are rough times for our skin.  Between the elements and the heater, our skin turns from soft and smooth to dry and sometimes flaky.  One of the most important things you can do for your skin is to stay hydrated.  Even if you don't feel like drinking cold water on a cold day, drink water anyway because it helps keep your skin looking pretty.  It's also important to keep your bathwater lukewarm because hot water dries out skin.  Using gentle cleanser and rich moisturizers are also important.

Moisturizing
 
 
TOCCA's Stella Bagno Profumato Body Wash and Crema Da Corpo Body Lotion are nice for everyday use for just about anybody.  TOCCA's paraben-free gentle cleanser conditions skin with olive oil, honey and candula extract.  Stella Crema da Corpo has natural extracts from sweet almond oil, shea butter and honey to moisturize and soothe winter dryness and sensitivity. Another benefit is that it absorbs quickly and nicely into the skin.

More Moisturizing
 

Bliss Naked Body Butter Maximum Moisture Cream has been their #1 body cream for over a decade.  Formulated for professional massages, it will seriously soften skin with coconut oil, lock in moisture with sodium hyaluronate and nourish with vitamin E.  Best of all, it has no smell so you can wear it anywhere or with any fragrance.
 
Most Moisturizing


 
Besides winning the Ladies' Home Journal's 'Do Good' stamp, Four Truffles Body Smoother and Body Butter are the perfect combination to fight seriously dry winter skin.  Four Truffles Body Smoother is a natural sugar scrub that gently smoothes away dry skin and contains botanical oils,  organic Argan Oil, Shea Butter, and olive oil to nourish skin.  Four Truffles Body Butter uses argan oil, olive oil, virgin coconut oil, aloe and vitamin E to keep skin summertime-soft.  I personally advise buying both with the body wash, which is great for those not-so-rough areas of skin along with the concentrated argan oil for super dry areas.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Present Guide for Candles

 
Heavily Scented Candle
Candles are always a popular gift.  The current shop favorite is Nest's Blue Garden.  We almost sold through our entire site just by leaving the candle burning in Battalions of Beauty.  The scent is light and floral, but the candle is heavily scented so you can actually smell it.  I've talked to several different customers in the past few weeks who have been searching for a candle that isn't just for decoration, and this is it.  Best of all, proceeds from the sale of Blue Garden candles are donated to Autism Speaks.


Most Elegant Candle
Baccarat designer Mathias Paris created a beautiful line of candles in some seriously elegant glass.  The container is venetian-style, hand-blown glass.  The fragrances range from hookah to freesia and are all beautiful and light enough to burn almost anywhere.  Best of all, when the candle is done, you have a beautiful glass to burn another candle in or just display.


Best Present Candle for Mom
If you're struggling for a gift for your mother, aunt or even grandmother, your safest bet is probably Lollia.  With popular shapes like feathers and diamonds and soft colors like teal and lavander, the packaging is traditionally beautiful without being overly proper or stale.